1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to assembly line and conveyor systems that provide the guided transport of objects along a predetermined path and, more particularly, the invention relates to a support bracket that secures guide rails in place on a conveyor system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Manufacturers commonly utilize conveyor systems in processing, packaging, and assembly lines in which a product travels on a conveyor chain and is transported through or between various manufacturing procedures. Guide rails are typically provided to maintain specific positioning of the product during a procedure. The guide rails also inhibit lateral movement during transport that may result in the product falling off the chain and jamming the conveyor system leading to delays in the production process. The product can also become damaged if it comes off the conveyor chain.
Guide rail support assemblies are typically utilized on each side of the conveyor chain structure to align one or more guide rails along the predetermined path. Usually, pairs of assemblies are located across from each other along the conveyor system. Typically, guide rail support brackets are attached to the sides of the conveyor structure, and support rods are mounted to the brackets. It is desirable to maintain the guide rails in a tangential orientation with respect to the conveyor travel to minimize side-loading and vibration between the guide rails and the objects.
One difficulty is that, in many applications, the products are of different sizes. For example, a bottling plant may spend part of one day processing small bottles and the remainder of the day processing bottles of much larger diameter. However, in portions of production lines the guide rails need to maintain close contact with all sizes of objects. In certain situations, new products or new container sizes can be of sufficient size as to create an interference with the guide rail support brackets as shown in FIG. 7.
Accordingly, the typical practice in the art is to remove the brackets and reattach them with longer bolts and with one or more spacers interposed between the brackets and the sides of the conveyor structure as shown in FIG. 8. Thus, the brackets are moved outwardly enough to clear the larger product on the conveyor chain.
For most conveyor guide rail applications, the guide rails are arranged parallel to the conveyor body and, thus, the conveyor chain. However, in applications including in-line transfers from one conveyor line to another adjacent parallel but laterally displaced conveyor line or in conveyors including curves, the surface of the conveyor body and the guide rails are not parallel in the transition/curve region. It is known to provide plastic swivel bodies on a fixed guide rail support to allow the guide rail to pivot with respect to the guide rail support bracket and the conveyor body. However, these swivel bodies are typically configured with internal cavities and gaps. These cavities and gaps can retain debris present in the conveyor environment making it difficult to clean the cavities and gaps.
In addition, the plastic swivel bodies depend on a plastic-to-plastic mating surface. As is well known in the art, plastic can only endure a limited amount of tightening torque without damaging the material. Also, the plastic tends to cold flow and is inherently a low friction material. Thus, the plastic swivel bodies tend to loosen over time especially in the high vibration environment of a conveyor system. Plastic is also susceptible to damage from certain harsh cleaning solutions used in conveyor systems.
From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that there is a need for a guide rail support bracket assembly that obviates the need for spacers when larger products are to be used on a conveyor system. There is also a need for a guide rail support bracket that can support a guide rail in various orientations with respect to the conveyor body, yet be made of materials resistant to the conveyor environment and provide minimal cavities for retention of material.
The aforementioned needs are satisfied by the invention, which in one aspect, provides a guide rail support bracket assembly for supporting a conveyor system guide rail through a support rod. The assembly includes a support bracket having a mounting segment configured to be mounted to a conveyor body. The support bracket is preferably formed by cutting and bending a generally flat metal plate. An extension segment is attached along a first edge to the mounting segment. A support segment is connected along an edge to a second edge of the extension segment and, at another end, spaced from the mounting segment, to an angled clamping section. The support rod is clamped into the clamping section by an eyebolt that fits through a clamping hole formed in the angled clamping section. The eyebolt is drawn into the angled clamping section by a clamping knob or fastener.
The guide rail support bracket assembly of this invention overcomes the limitations of the prior art in a number of ways. First, the support bracket is preferably constructed of stainless steel, which is not susceptible to deterioration from harsh cleaning chemicals. Second, the support bracket assembly has less internal or hard to access surface area in comparison to the prior art, which makes the bracket easy to clean and prevents the trapping of cleaning chemicals. Third, the support bracket does not have a cylindrical cavity that limits the maximum diameter of the support rod that would otherwise have to fit through the cavity. Fourth, the support bracket assembly can accommodate support rods of variable sizes by using an eyebolt with an appropriately sized eyelet. Furthermore, the support bracket has a simple construction that makes the bracket easy and inexpensive to fabricate.
In one aspect of the invention, a guide rail support bracket assembly for a conveyor system comprises: (1) a support bracket comprising: (a) a mounting segment extending substantially along a first plane; an extension segment attached along a first edge to the mounting segment; and a support segment connected along an edge to a second edge of the extension segment and along another edge to the mounting segment, the extension and support segments extending substantially along a second plane substantially perpendicular to the first plane; and (b) an angled clamping section having a clamping hole formed therein, the angled clamping section being connected to the support segment at an end spaced from the mounting segment; (2) a threaded eyebolt ending in an eyelet, the eyebolt configured to fit through the clamping hole such that the eyelet is positioned on a concave side of the angled clamping section; and (3) a fastener configured to thread onto the eyebolt and pull the eyelet into the angled clamping section from an opposite side of the angled clamping section. In one aspect of the invention, the bracket is formed by cutting and bending a single generally flat metal plate. In another aspect, the mounting segment, the extension segment, and the support segment together define a support bracket formed by cutting and bending a generally flat metal plate and wherein the angled clamping section is formed by cutting and bending a separate generally flat metal plate and wherein the support bracket and angled clamping sections each further comprise a pivot segment and wherein the support bracket and angled clamping sections are attachable in a 360xc2x0 rotational orientation
In a particular aspect of the invention, the angled clamping section is configured to secure a guide rail support rod, the angled clamping section comprising: (a) a first clamping segment attached to the support segment beyond the mounting segment, the first clamping segment extending substantially along a third plane, the third plane being substantially perpendicular to the first plane, the first clamping segment being oriented at about a 45xc2x0 angle relative to the support segment; and (b) a second clamping segment connected to the first clamping segment at a clamping joint, the second clamping segment extending along a fourth plane, the fourth plane being substantially perpendicular to the first plane, the second clamping segment being oriented between about 70xc2x0 and 110xc2x0 relative to the first clamping segment. In a preferred aspect of the invention, the angled clamping section has a clamping hole formed therethrough.
In still another aspect of the invention, a conveyor system guide rail support bracket assembly comprises: (1) a conveyor having a conveyor body; (2) a first guide rail support bracket formed by cutting and bending a flat metal plate, the bracket comprising: (a) a mounting segment attachable to the conveyor body so as to define a proximate configuration; (b) a support segment connected at one end to the mounting segment; and (c) an angled clamping section connected to the support segment at an end spaced from the mounting segment; (3) at least a second guide rail support bracket formed by cutting and bending a flat metal plate, the bracket comprising: (a) a mounting segment attachable to the conveyor body so as to define at least a first distal configuration; (b) an extension segment attached along a first edge to the mounting segment; (c) a support segment connected along an edge to a second edge of the extension segment; and (d) an angled clamping section connected to the support segment at an end spaced from the mounting segment; (4) a clamping mechanism; (5) a support rod clamped into the angled clamping section by the clamping mechanism; and (6) a guide rail attached to an end of the support rod.
In one particular aspect, the clamping mechanism comprises a clamping hole formed in the angled clamping section, a threaded eyebolt ending in an eyelet, the eyebolt configured to fit through the clamping hole such that the eyelet is positioned on a concave side of the angled clamping section, and a fastener configured to thread onto the eyebolt and pull the eyelet into the angled clamping section from an opposite side of the angled clamping section.
In yet another aspect, the invention is a guide rail support bracket assembly for a conveyor system, the assembly comprising a support bracket comprising (1) a mounting segment and a support segment connected to the mounting segment; and (2) a bracket pivot segment attached to the support segment, an angled clamping section having a clamping hole formed therein, the angled clamping section also defining a clamping section pivot segment wherein the angled clamping section is connected to the support bracket via the pivot segments such that the support bracket and the angled clamping section can be secured in any of a 360xc2x0 relative orientations, a threaded eyebolt ending in an eyelet, the eyebolt configured to fit through the clamping hole such that the eyelet is positioned on a concave side of the angled clamping section, and a fastener configured to thread onto the eyebolt and pull the eyelet into the angled clamping section from an opposite side of the angled clamping section. In one particular aspect, the support bracket further comprises an extension segment attached along a first edge to the mounting segment and along a second edge to the support segment.
An additional aspect of the invention is a method of guiding objects on a conveyor system, the conveyor system comprising a conveyor body and the conveyor system transporting objects along a non-strictly linear path, the method comprising attaching a guide rail support bracket to the conveyor body, attaching a guide rail to a clamping section, and interconnecting the guide rail support bracket and the clamping section such that the guide rail is positioned in a substantially tangential orientation with respect to the conveyor travel. These and other objects and advantages will become more fully apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.